He knelt down next to Max. “Hi, Max. I’m Rio. I’m going to carry you across the lawn and then you’re going to climb onto my back. Does that sound like fun?”
Max’s lower lip jutted forward. “I’m not a baby. I don’t need to be carried.”
Rio patted him on the back. “I know that, dude, but it’s part of the game.”
Max narrowed his eyes, but Rio didn’t give him any time to think about it. He hoisted him in his arms, crushing him against his body. Then he hunched forward and took off toward the cliff.
Tori followed closely, her gun clutched in her hand. If anyone tried to take Max from Rio now, she’d have no problem shooting to kill.
They reached the cliff, and Rio set Max on the ground. “Now here’s the really cool part. You’re going to be strapped on to my back as we climb down this cliff. I know you’re a big boy and you can handle that.”
Max licked his lips, his gaze darting over the edge of the cliff and back to Rio.
The rope they’d tagged up the side of the hill would make climbing down a lot easier than the journey up, but Tori’s heart galloped in her chest anyway. She lifted Max and fed his legs through the straps in the harness. When she snapped the last buckle, floodlights from the house began sweeping the lawn.
Fear spiraled down her spine. “Rio, the lights.”
“I guess we wore out our welcome. Get moving, princess.”
She grabbed the rope and shimmied over the side on her belly. Rio immediately followed, Max strapped to his back. Over the roar of the ocean below her, Tori heard shouts. Had they discovered Max was missing already? She’d been hoping for a head start.
Tori rappelled smoothly down the side of the cliff as she kept her eye on Max. Although the harness held him securely, he had his arms wound around Rio’s neck.
Tori sobbed with relief as her feet hit the rocks of the beach. The Zodiac waited like a refuge. Rio landed beside her, and, with shaking hands, Tori unhitched the harness.
A grin spread across Max’s pale face. “That was fun. Can we do it again?”
“Maybe another time.” Rio gave Max a high five. “Now it’s time for the boat, and I know you can handle that.”
Max clambered into the Zodiac and Rio whipped a jacket out of his backpack. “Put this on.”
Tori helped Max into the big windbreaker and fastened a life vest around him. Then she and Rio shoved the Zodiac into the water. A small wave bumped the side and sprayed Tori’s face. She licked the salt water from her lips and grabbed an oar.
They rowed into the bay toward the point. Tori panted as she struggled against the choppy water. Then she gulped as she noticed lights bouncing along the edge of the cliff where they’d gone over.
She nudged Rio’s arm where his muscles bunched with the effort of paddling and pointed. “They found our exit.”
He shrugged and wiped the sweat from his brow. “They can follow, but they have no boat waiting for them and half of them don’t look capable of rappelling down the side of a craggy cliff. You did great, by the way. I’m impressed.”
Despite herself, Tori felt a warm glow suffuse her face. “When you grow up in the Rocky Mountains, a few volcanic cliffs aren’t going to faze…”
She cut off her words, wishing she’d bitten her tongue. Every time she mentioned Silverhill, Rio’s face grew tight. She studied his features, but he just smiled.
“Your son must’ve inherited that from you because he didn’t make a peep on the way down.”
Tori jumped as the sound of a gunshot echoed across the bay. She hissed, “They’re shooting at us.”
Rio glanced at Max shivering in the corner of the boat. “I think they’re just shooting. I doubt they can see the Zodiac. Hey, dude, why don’t you scrunch down in the corner a little more? You’ll be warmer.”
Max wiggled into the corner, and Tori reached over and folded the collar of the jacket to secure it around Max’s neck. “You’re doing great, Max.”
As the Zodiac reached the point of the jetty that divided the two bays, Rio flicked on his flashlight twice in quick succession. He waited several seconds and repeated the code. The engine of the powerboat roared to life and the headlight beamed across the water.
“Ted is closer than I expected.” Rio gunned the motor of the Zodiac and maneuvered toward the powerboat bearing down on them.
A flutter of fear wafted through Tori’s chest. What if Ted wasn’t on the powerboat? What if Alexi’s men had already discovered him?
The powerboat slowed as it edged near the Zodiac, the engine a low rumble. As the boat turned, its wake lifted the Zodiac, and Rio cut the engine.
Ted rushed to the side, and Tori felt dizzy with relief. Then she saw his face.
“They’re on their way. Did you get caught up there?”
Rio hauled a protesting Max over his shoulder and fed him up to Ted. “Yeah, they either discovered Max was gone or they found the guy in the bushes. They must’ve radioed ahead to the boat.”
He swept up Tori in his arms and swung her over the side of the powerboat. “You and Max stay down. We’ve got ourselves a boat race.”
Max whined. “Mommy.”
“It’s okay, sweetie. It’s just a game.” She dragged a blanket from a locker at the end of the boat and wrapped Max in its musty folds. She hunched in the corner, her body shielding Max from the cool ocean breeze…and anything else that came their way.
Ted revved the engine of the boat and shot out into the open ocean. A few minutes later the whine of another engine echoed across the water.
A sharp crack pierced through the roar of the dueling engines. Rio stretched out on the deck and cocked his weapon over the side. He fired back as Ted put the boat into overdrive.
Tori squeezed Max with one arm as she pulled her weapon out with her other hand. They’d have to get through her to take Max.
The thwacking sound of a helicopter passed above, but Ted waved him off. He yelled to Rio, “I don’t want the chopper to get hit. We’ll need to deal with these guys before Derrick can position the bird.”
Rio scrambled to the other side of the boat. “Light ’em up.”
Ted swung the big search light on the boat toward the oncoming sound of the engine. The strong beam picked out Alexi’s powerboat slicing through the water. Rio discarded his handgun for a semiautomatic rifle. He jumped up on the deck and sprayed the side of the other boat while a hail of bullets shot back at them.
Tori screamed, “Rio, get down!”
A small explosion boomed in the water, and curses and screams filled the air. Rio collapsed to the deck. “I hit their gas tank. Fire it up, Ted, and signal Derrick.”
The boat lurched forward, and they left the acrid smell of smoke behind. By the time Alexi got another boat after them, they’d be in the helicopter. Tori slumped, her breath harsh in her throat.
She smoothed Max’s hair back from his clammy fore head as he whimpered. She cooed, “It’s okay. We’re going for a ride in a helicopter next.”
She shifted her gaze to Rio, still lying on the deck. He must have been exhausted. “Are you okay, Rio?”
He didn’t respond. Tori’s breath hitched in her throat as she shifted Max from her lap. “Rio?”
Scrambling to her hands and knees, Tori crawled to Rio’s still form. His spiky, dark lashes lay on his cheeks, his breath ragged and short. “Oh, my God, Ted. I think Rio’s been hit.”
“Hang on.” Ted aimed the spotlight into the night sky to signal the chopper and then cut the engine and began to fumble with the anchor.
Tori pushed Rio onto his back, revealing a dark stain spreading out from his left shoulder. Gulping, she ripped the neck of his T-shirt, her hands slick with Rio’s blood. “He has a bullet wound in his shoulder.”
Ted called back as he hauled the anchor overboard, and the helicopter’s lights pierced through the sky. “Put pressure on the wound to stop the bleeding. I’ll see what I can do when we get in the chopper.”
Tori ripped the
remainder of Rio’s T-shirt from his body, bunched it up and pressed it against the oozing wound. She put her face close to his. “Open your eyes. Open your eyes, damn it.”
The chopper suspended above them, a ladder unfurling toward the boat’s deck. A man’s dark face appeared over the side. “Bring the boy up first.”
Her hands clamped over Rio’s shoulder, Tori called out, “Ted.”
He lifted Max. “Don’t worry, Tori. I’ve got Max.”
Ted clamped Max securely against his side as he climbed up the ladder to the chopper. Waiting hands pulled Max inside the helicopter. Ted jumped back onto the deck. “Go on up, Tori.”
Tears flooded her eyes. Rio had put himself in the line of fire for her and Max. He’d shot out the gas tank of the other boat at the risk of his own life.
“I—I can’t leave him, Ted.”
He laid a hand on her back. “Rio’s suffered worse than this little scrape. You did a good job staunching the wound. I’ll take it from here. We all need to get in the helicopter…now.”
Reluctantly, Tori peeled open her stiff fingers, stained with Rio’s blood. Ted clamped his hand over the T-shirt and smacked Rio’s face. “Wake up. Stop faking.”
Rio’s lids flickered, and he clenched his jaw. “Tori?”
“She’s fine, and so’s the boy. Now Derrick’s getting mighty impatient up there in his bird, so haul your ass up and let’s end this vacation.”
Tori stumbled toward the ladder swaying in the wind and grabbed one rung. Ted slid an arm beneath Rio’s good shoulder and heaved him to his feet. Rio staggered and almost fell backward. Then he shook his head and straightened his back. Clutching his shoulder, he shuffled toward the ladder.
Letting out a ragged breath, Tori clawed her way up and into the helicopter while steady hands grabbed her arms. She scooted back to the edge on her stomach and reached her arms out toward Rio climbing up the ladder with one hand, his left arm hanging uselessly at his side as Ted pushed him from beneath.
When Rio’s head was level with the chopper, Tori reached down and hooked her arm beneath his right shoulder. She braced her feet against a bin in the helicopter and hauled him over the side as Ted wrapped his arms around Rio’s legs and hoisted him up.
Rio grunted as he fell into the chopper. The man named Derrick flipped open a first aid kit and doused the wound with alcohol. Rio’s breath hissed between his teeth.
Tori hovered over him, her fingertips smoothing a line down his jaw. “Is he going to be okay?”
Derrick nodded and grinned. “Once I get through with him. Now go sit down next to your son.”
She knew a dismissal when she heard one. She secured Max in his seat and belted herself in the one next to him. She eyed Derrick as he pulled scary tools from his black bag and probed Rio’s wound as he lay stretched out on the floor.
Ted lurched into the chopper and pulled up the ladder. He smacked the side of the bird and shouted to Derrick’s copilot, “Let’s go.”
The helicopter tilted and swept forward, back toward land, and Tori laced her fingers through Max’s. Were they really safe? She wouldn’t believe it until they hit the mainland and Rio was fully conscious and healed.
She looked out the window at the powerboat still bobbing on the water. “You’re just going to leave the boat out there?”
“Not exactly.” Ted pulled a switch from his pocket and waved it back and forth.
Tilting her head, Tori asked, “What’s that?”
“Insurance.”
He flipped the switch, and the boat exploded in the water, orange flames leaping from the oil slick on the surface of the ocean.
Tori swallowed. These guys didn’t fool around.
Rio groaned as Derrick injected a needle into his shoulder.
“What are you doing? I thought you were a pilot, not a doctor.”
Derrick looked up as he pulled out the needle. “I’m a man of multiple talents, and I have to remove the bullet. He doesn’t have time for a stay in the hospital.”
Doctor Derrick totally lacked a bedside manner. “Can I help?”
“Are you squeamish?”
“No.” She unbuckled her seatbelt and patted Max’s arm, tucking the blanket around him. “You doing okay?”
Max nodded sleepily, lulled by the buzz of the helicopter.
Tori crouched next to Rio and doused her hands with disinfectant. “Tell me what to do.”
Rio faded in and out of consciousness as Derrick removed the bullet from his shoulder and cleaned and bandaged the wound. He pulled out a bottle of water and a couple of tablets. “Lift his head. He needs some antibiotics and painkillers.”
Tori ran her hands through Rio’s dark, tangled hair and propped his head on her knees as she massaged his temples with her thumbs. “Drink some water and take the pills. You’re going to be all right.”
Derrick placed the pills on Rio’s tongue and held the bottle of water to his lips. He gulped down the water, and his lips quirked into a smile. “Thanks, Doc.”
A tear slid down Tori’s cheek, and she leaned over and kissed Rio’s wet lips. He sighed with contentment and burrowed his head into her lap.
Derrick exchanged a look with Ted, which Tori ignored. She’d probably just ruined Rio’s reputation as a tough guy.
Derrick shook out a blanket and covered Rio. “He should be falling asleep soon, which is the best remedy for him right now. We’re taking this bird to a small airstrip in Honolulu, and Rio has a private Gulfstream ready. Where to?”
Tori caressed Rio’s hair between her fingertips and tucked it behind his ear as she murmured, “Huh?”
“Where are you and your son going after this?”
Tori traced a finger along Rio’s hard jaw, now slack with drowsiness. He might even sleep right through the plane ride. She jerked up her head, eyes wide. “Didn’t Rio tell you? We’re going to Colorado. Silverhill, Colorado.”
Chapter Fourteen
The throbbing pain in his shoulder crept up his neck and pounded against his temples. Rio peeled his tongue from the roof of his mouth and ran it across his dry lips. Pinching the bridge of his nose, he squeezed his eyes shut as the pain zinged through his head.
He shifted, and the soft, cool pillow beneath him soothed his pulsating headache. His body vibrated slightly with the low hum of an engine. He rubbed his eyes. Derrick had dug that bullet out of his shoulder on the floor of the chopper. This ride was too smooth for a chopper over the ocean.
“He’s awake.” A woman’s voice, low and musical, eased his aching soreness even more, and he floated on a pleasant dream before a twinge shot through his shoulder again.
He swallowed, but his parched throat caused him to choke. Cool hands fluttered about his face and shoulder. Capable fingers curled around the back of his neck, tilting his head up. “Can you drink something now, Rio?”
Another woman’s voice, but not the one that had calmed his senses before. He struggled to sit up, and the cushions beneath his back rose to an incline. Someone pressed the rim of a glass to his lips, which he parted to accept the water tipped into this mouth.
He sipped slowly and then eased open his eyes, blinking against the low light of the aircraft’s interior. A woman, her dark hair pulled back, swam into focus.
She smiled. “Welcome back, Rio. Derrick did a great job. You show no signs of fever and your bullet wound, while red, is not inflamed at all.”
He curled his hand around the glass and took it from her. He took another swallow of water and cleared his throat. “Where’s Derrick? Are Tori and Max okay?”
She pulled the blanket farther off his bare shoulder. “May I?” She didn’t wait for his answer, pressing her hand against his gauze dressing. “Good, no moisture. Derrick’s flying this plane, Max is sleeping two rows up and Tori’s right behind me.”
She shifted to her right, and Tori’s head popped over her shoulder. “How are you feeling, Rio? This is Cora. She’s a nurse, and Derrick called her in to accompany you back
to the mainland.”
Rio fell back, cradling the glass of water in both hands. “So you’re safe? We got away from Maui okay?”
Cora moved into the aisle to grab a black leather bag from the seat across from his, and Tori took her place, crouching beside his reclining seat. She readjusted the blanket, yanking it up to his chin. “We’re safe, thanks to you. If you hadn’t literally blown their boat out of the water, I’m not sure how we would’ve gotten away.”
He lifted his injured shoulder and winced. “Had to do it before they did it to us.”
“Shortly after their tank exploded, Derrick brought the helicopter in and we all got inside, including Ted. He then blew up the boat. Derrick flew us over to Honolulu, called in Cora and we put you on the plane. We just took off over the Pacific. Ted stayed behind.”
Cora returned with her palm open. She shoved three tablets beneath his tongue. “More antibiotics to keep an infection at bay. Swallow.”
Rio sipped more water, and the tablets slid down his throat. Damn. He hated being out of control, loaded on the plane like an invalid, drugged up. “Is Max all right?”
“He’s sleeping. He was confused and scared, but he’ll be fine just as soon as I get him home.” Tori turned her head, and her hair fell across her face.
Rio’s brain, which had been clearing, seemed to fog over again. He struggled against the languor seeping through his body once again. The glass in his hand jerked, spilling drops of water onto the blanket.
Cora caught the glass from his hand as his grip relaxed. “Just go with the flow, Rio. I slipped you another sedative with the antibiotic. Your body needs sleep to heal.”
Home. Home. Home. Tori’s words floated through his brain, and he tried to latch on to them, tried to make sense of them. He concentrated every ounce of effort he had on forming his own words in his uncooperative mouth. Finally, he breathed out, “Where we going?”
Cora’s voice pierced through the haze cloaking him. “We’re going to Silverhill, Colorado.”
A Silverhill Christmas Page 15